Skopje, 25 January 2024 (MIA) - Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski and Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi are expected to resign from their posts on Thursday, thus launching the procedure on election of a caretaker government, which is set to be elected on Sunday, 100 days prior to the May 8 parliamentary elections.

VMRO-DPMNE nominated late Wednesday its candidates for ministers and additional deputy ministers but remained on its position it would not vote for the caretaker government.

Panche Toshkovski will be the caretaker Minister of Interior, Gjoko Velkovski - Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Elena Petrova - additional Deputy Minister of Finance, Stefan Andonovski - additional Deputy Minister of Information Society and Administration, and Cvetan Tripunovski additional Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy.

VMRO-DPMNE vice-president Timcho Mucunski said after a meeting of the party's executive committee they wouldn’t vote for a caretaker government put forward by a person from DUI. “We will provide our proposals, but that government will not have the support of our MPs,”  he said.

SDSM released the names of the candidates for the caretaker government earlier in the month. The incumbent ministers coming from the party will remain in the posts, whereas Mitko Bojmacaliev and Jovana Trenchevska have been nominated as additional deputy ministers of interior and labor and social policy respectively. MIA has learned that ministers coming from the orders of DUI and Alliance of Albanians will remain.

Speaker Xhaferi said yesterday that after the PM's resignation, he will notify the President that the Government has resigned, authorize Vice-Speaker Goran Misovski to chair Friday's session and then resign.

On Friday, lawmakers will verify the resignations of the PM and the Government, and then put forward a new item on the agenda - election of a new Speaker, in this case Jovan Mitreski. After his election, the new Speaker will notify the President that he has been elected to the post by the majority in the Parliament. In the course of the day, President Stevo Pendarovski will give the mandate to the caretaker PM-designate.

On Saturday, Xhaferi is set to submit a program and composition of the caretaker government to the Parliament, whereas the session on the government's election should be scheduled for Sunday. Another session on election of the additional deputy ministers and a new MP will follow.

MIA file photo